Maintaining The Value Of Your Home With Quality Floor Sanding And Refinishing
A professionally sanded and refinished floor enables you to turn that old and forlorn look to one that enhances the aesthetic appeal of the space. Wood, unlike other flooring options, gives you the chance for a brand new start without having to rip out the floorboards. The goal here is to get rid of the worn-out coats, fill the gaps, and remove the scratches and other imperfections that are on the floor. The floor sanding gets through to the bare wood, a process that opens up the wood grain, ready for the surface to be treated. The wood stains, sealants, lacquers, varnish or other treatments that are applied give it that new look that accentuates the interior space. There are different reasons to have a floor restoration project carried out:
- Beauty
Revamping dilapidated floors is one of the most common reasons for the floor sanding and refinishing. You can restore the lost charm to the space, or choose to apply new wood stains that will change the look and feel of the room. With a wide assortment of floor refinishing products to choose from, you get to set the décor that accentuates your personality and brings out your style.
- Enhance the home’s value
Are you looking to put the house on the market? Property brokers and real estate agents will no doubt tell you about the importance of having elegant floors. Prospective buyers will want to see that the house has been well-maintained, and this means that you don’t want scratches, splinters, worn-out finishes and other imperfections on the floor dragging down the ambience of the space. On the other hand, a properly sanded and refinished floor will have a better overall look, increasing the value of the property and enabling you to justify that premium that you want for it.
Over time, the dilapidating wood finish, coupled with the barrage of abuse meted out on the floor on a daily basis, causes scratches and splinters to develop. This will be risky to the household members, especially those walking around barefoot or in socks. Kids and pets tend to be at a higher risk of injury. During the floor sanding and refinishing, these issues are involved, making the floor safer for your family members.
Wood itself has a pretty durable structure – which is why it is even popular for the high traffic establishments. However, additional protection is still required to retain the structural integrity for longer, which is where the finishing process comes in. The finish coats that are to be applied should be able to bond strongly to the bare wood for optimal protection, and also uniformly applied. The compatibility of the different coats also comes into focus, since the floor can be treated with different formulations – from the wood stains, sealants to the varnishes. Ensuring the surface is properly prepped through a quality floor sanding will enable you to get the most out of the treatment products that will be used.
- Ward off pets
This is an added advantage to proper floor sanding, since it gets rid of the small holes and crevices that insects like termites would have burrowed into and bred. This, coupled with the protective finishes applied, means that you won’t have to worry about your installation becoming a habitat for colonies of insects.
Factors Affecting The Floor Restoration Project
It’s not a simple issue of just passing the sander over the surface and applying the coats of finish. First, the floor needs to be prepared for the task, including removing staples sticking out from the surface, and driving those exposed nails and screwheads into the wood. Caps should be filled, and the floor sanded following the proper grit sequence.
Given that this is a labour-intensive job, powerful machinery is needed to expedite the process. The industrial-grade machinery that the professionals use provides a higher capacity compared to the rented equipment from the local dealerships. The skillset of the person carrying out the sanding also matters, especially when it comes to operating the different sanding machinery for the various sections of the floor, the edges, all through to dealing with the staircases.
Dust is an issue that should be properly controlled. No dust is safe, whether it is from a newly installed floor, a surface with varnish and wood stain being removed, or even those old floors that were coated with substances containing lead or adhesives with asbestos. The airborne particles can be inhaled, and some even absorbed into the digestive system. Children, in particular, are at a high risk, since they will go touching the dust-coated surfaces and put their hands on their faces and in their mouths. The fine sanding dust particles can remain airborne for weeks, and it’s worse when they get into the building’s HVAC system since they are circulated around the house for longer. Different measure are recommended for containing the dust. These include:
- Sealing off areas that would allow the dust into the adjacent rooms. Here, measures include closing off the heat ducts and blocking of the vents so that the dust does not get into them and recirculate through the building.
- Opting for dustless floor sanding services. These systems have been specially put together to greatly improve the efficiency of the dust collection process, even getting to levels of 99% efficiency with the state-of-the-art machinery. Here, powerful vacuums are hooked up to the sanding gear. The suction that they deliver picks up the sanding dust immediately it is ground off the floor, and it is then directed away into containment units.
- Thorough vacuuming of the house after the floor sanding process. This also aids in the clean-up process, and protects the occupants of the residence.
When it comes to applying the woods stains and finish coats, the products selected should be compatible with each other. The instructions on the product label should be followed strictly, especially with the drying times required in between consecutive coats, as well as the coverage rate to be used.
Maintaining The Value Of Your Home With Quality Floor Sanding And Refinishing
Bona Oiled Floor Cleaner 2.5L Refill